ITV

Tag: Pradeep Guha

  • Zee Cine Awards heads to Bangkok; to be held on 3 March

    Zee Cine Awards heads to Bangkok; to be held on 3 March

    MUMBAI: Zee Network is gearing up for its 10th edition of its prestigious event property Zee Cine Awards. The media house has chosen Bangkok as the venue for this year’s awards.

    Zee Cine Awards 2007 will raise a toast to its meteoric rise through 10 eventful years and the exciting future ahead on 3 March 2007 at Impact Arena, Bangkok, informs an official release.

    Announcing the launch of ZCA 2007, Zee Telefilms CEO Pradeep Guha said, “Zee Cine Awards has been going international for three years now, but what continues to make it special is that going beyond the mere exotic value of foreign locales, each.
    ZCA has done its bit to take Bollywood to the world. And going by the enthusiastic response we get each time, the appetite has only gotten bigger and better! We hope Bangkok will set new records.”

    Zee Cine Awards honours the best of Bollywood. As per an official release, ZCA over the years has come to be one of the blue-chip yardsticks of creative and technical excellence coupled with being the biggest showbiz spectacle ever. Last year’s edition of ZCA was held in Mauritius and the event was participated by Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan to Preity Zinta, Rani Mukherji and Priyanka Chopra to name a few.

  • Zee Tele Q2 revenues up 38% at Rs 4.6 billion; Net Rs 333 million

    Zee Tele Q2 revenues up 38% at Rs 4.6 billion; Net Rs 333 million

    MUMBAI: Subhash Chandra’s Zee Telefilms Limited today reported second quarter consolidated revenues of Rs 4.64 billion representing a 38.1 per cent growth over the corresponding period in the previous fiscal where it stood at Rs 3.36 billion.

    Consolidated operating profit stood at Rs 338 million, after expensing of initial investments in new activities viz. Zee Telugu, Zee Smile, Zee Sports and others, amounting to Rs 832 million (17.9 per cent of consolidated revenues).

    As a result, consolidated operating profits of continuing businesses were Rs 1,171 million, higher by 28.4 per cent over to the corresponding quarter last year.
    Profit before tax for the second quarter of fiscal 2007 was Rs 409 million while net profit was Rs 333 million, down 21.6 per cent from the Rs 425 million recorded last year.
    The results announced are after consolidating the financials of ETC Networks Limited (ETC) for the second quarter of FY2007.

    2Q FY2007 – Highlights
    Advertisement revenue Rs 2,107 million – up 42.6%
    Subscription revenue Rs 1,930 million – up 10.6%
    Zee TV now leader in 9-10 pm & in 6-8:30 pm time band
    Siticable acquires 250,000 last mile cable connections
    DishTV enhances content offering, Star bouquet available from August
    DishTV subscriber base now 1.5 million

    Said Chandra, “Zee’s second quarter results prove the continued strength of our content business and a growing presence across new genres. Not only are we growing our content business, we have been very successful in integrating it with new platforms like DTH, with significant growth potential. The performance reflects our success in delivering superior content to viewers and stronger relationship with our consumers.”

    Chandra added, “We are also happy about some recent developments relating to our business. There is continued monitoring of High Court for implementation of CAS in the notified areas of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata by December 31, 2006. This will additionally help in bringing about addressability on cable. On DTH, DishTV further enhanced its offering from August when the Star bouquet was also made available to subscribers and now DishTV has the most comprehensive content on any pay television service, whether cable or satellite. All these have extremely positive and long term impact on our business.”

    Commenting on the restructuring exercise, Chandra continued, “The restructuring exercise is underway and is expected to be completed by January 2007. There has been some delay from our earlier expectation of November 2006, due purely to a number of adjournments of court hearings. When completed, the restructuring would result in four listed companies ready to exploit the vast emerging opportunities in each line of business. The next several years would provide tremendous growth opportunities for all these four businesses.”

    Punit Goenka, whole time director and responsible for content creation, commented, “Zee TV continued to increase its viewership share from 25% in 1Q FY2007 to 28% during 2Q FY2007, along with a significant growth in time spent. During the quarter, average gross ratings points (GRPs) of Zee TV remained at 240 levels, while recording peak GRPs of 270 in week 36. The growth momentum has been led by widespread success of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs, Saat Phere and Kasamh Se, while our new launches Dulhan and Betiyan have been very well received. Betiyan touched a TVR of 5 in its first week. Zee TV now has five programmes in the Top 20 and 12 programmes in the Top 50. It has leadership in the 9 pm to 10 pm time band, and between 6 pm to 8:30 pm on weekdays.”

    “Zee Cinema continues to be the No. 1 movie channel, and increasingly is becoming a reach channel for the advertisers. Zee Marathi has improved its viewership by 16 per cent during 2Q FY2007. Zee Bangla has improved its viewership by 60 per cent and has gained leadership position in the 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm time band. Zee Sports continues to build on the back of Cricket Tri-Series in Malaysia between India, Australia and West Indies. We will continue to reinforce our competitive advantage and deliver more value to viewers and shareholders.” Goenka added.

    Elaborating on the performance, CEO Pradeep Guha said, “We are pleased with the strong operating results, content business delivered in the second quarter. We once again outperformed the market with unmatched connection with our audience and remain focused on building on our progress. Looking ahead, we are confident that continued execution of our content strategy would result in a revenue growth faster than that of industry.”

  • Zee DNA unveils Super Sixes Corporate Cricket Challenge

    Zee DNA unveils Super Sixes Corporate Cricket Challenge

    MUMBAI: Zee Network and DNA (Daily News & Analysis) have announced the Zee DNA Super Sixes Corporate Cricket Challenge. Four ex-captains and leading international cricket players will team up with corporate India’s best cricket teams in the Zee DNA Super Sixes.

    The winning team gets an all expenses paid trip to watch India’s first 20-20 match against South Africa in Johannesburg and a Rolling Gold Trophy., according to an official release.

    The tournament will see players from corporate cricket teams playing alongside cricketing stalwarts such as Mohammad Azharuddin, Dilip Vengsarkar, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Arvinda Desilva, Romesh Kaluwitarna, Venkatesh Prasad and Nayan Mongia, the release adds.

    64 teams comprising six players will participate in this tournament. These 64 teams will be divided into four groups of 16 teams each. Eight teams will qualify for the semi finals. The qualifying matches will be played on 28 – 29 October and the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals on 12 November in Mumbai. Zee Sports will telecast highlights of the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals the following weekend.

    Speaking on the tournament, Zee Network CEO Pradeep Guha said, “Zee DNA Super Sixes is different from regular corporate cricket tournaments, both in format as well as composition. Indian & international cricket stars will be playing as part of the final eight teams.”

    Adding further, he said, “All members of the winning team will get an opportunity to travel to South Africa to watch India play South Africa in their first ever 20-20 one day game to be played in Johannesburg on 1 December 2006.”

    One International cricket player will be a part of each of the eight teams from the quarter-final stage onwards (four quarters + two semis + one final). Noted commentator & former cricketer Charu Sharma and Ayaz Memon have been roped in for commentary throughout the tournament. Kapil Dev will be the Chief Guest for the mega finals and will award the Rolling Gold Trophy to the winning team.

  • Zee Telefilms’ Q1 consolidated net slips 28% at Rs 562 million

    Zee Telefilms’ Q1 consolidated net slips 28% at Rs 562 million

    MUMBAI: Zee Telefilms has posted a 27.8 per cent fall in consolidated net profit at Rs 562 million for the first quarter ended 30 June, 2006, as against Rs 779 million in the corresponding period last fiscal

    Total income, however, rose 24 per cent to Rs 3.884 billion, up from Rs 3.131 billion.

    The consolidated operating profit stood at Rs 726 million, after factoring in initial investments in new activities viz. Zee Telugu, Zee Smile, Zee Sports and others, amounting to Rs 571 million (14.7 per cent of consolidated revenues). As a result, consolidated operating profits of continuing businesses were Rs 1.297 billion. These are higher by 8.4 per cent as compared to the corresponding quarter last year.

    “The growth rate is subdued mainly due to investments in programming and marketing focused on long-term buildup of mainline channels. Profit before tax for the first quarter of the fiscal 2007 was Rs 672 million while net profit was Rs 562 million,” Zee said in an official release.

    On a standalone basis, Zee Telefilms has posted a 50.8 per cent fall in net profit to Rs 156 million for the quarter ended 30 June, 2006, as compared to Rs 306.80 million for the corresponding period last year. Total income has increased to Rs 2.440 billion for the quarter ended 30 Jun, 2006, up from Rs 1.777 billion for the corresponding period last year.

    Commenting on the results, ZTL chairman Subhash Chandra said, “We are pleased to report the strong recovery in our market position and continuing uptrend in ratings on the flagship channel. The performance reflects our success in delivering superior content to viewers and stronger relationship with our consumers.” “We are also happy about some recent developments relating to our business. The Delhi High Court has ordered the Union Government to issue a revised notification for implementation of CAS in the notified areas of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata by 31 December, 2006. This will additionally help in bringing about addressability on cable. On DTH, DishTV enhanced its offering from June when The OneAlliance bouquet was also made available to subscribers. Also, the TDSAT order has directed Star to provide their content to DishTV within 15 days. All these have extremely positive and long term impact on our business,” Chandra added.

    Commenting on the restructuring exercise, Chandra continued, “The restructuring exercise is expected to be completed by September/ October 2006, subject to necessary approvals. This shall create four focused, pure play, listed companies ready to exploit the vast emerging opportunities in each line of business. It would result in streamlined operations in each area and would also clear the ground for acquisitions and strategic or financial partners in the demerged businesses, apart from unlocking shareholder value. The next several years would provide tremendous growth opportunities for all these four businesses.”

    Punit Goenka, Zee Telefilms whole time director and responsible for content creation, said, “Zee TV continued to increase its viewership share from 21 per cent in 4Q FY2006 to 25 per cent during 1QFY2007, along with a significant growth in time spent. During the quarter, average gross ratings points (GRPs) of Zee TV have crossed 200 and for the last week it was at 240 GRPs, giving Zee a channel share of 29 per cent. The growth momentum has been led by widespread success of Saat Phere and Kasamh Se, which rank 5th and 6th among the top programmes on television, across genres. Zee TV now has leadership in the 9 pm to 10 pm time band, for the last six weeks.”

    “Zee Cinema continues to be the number one movie channel, and increasingly is becoming a reach channel for advertisers. Zee Marathi has also considerably narrowed the gap with its competitor (ETV Marathi). Zee Sports continues to build on the back of Football and ODI Cricket matches. We will continue to reinforce our competitive advantage and deliver more value to viewers and shareholders,” Goenka added.

    Elaborating on the performance, Zee Telefilms CEO Pradeep Guha said, “During FY2006, the yield per spot of ten seconds was the lowest in the history of Zee TV. Zee TV has introduced many initiatives, which focus on improving inventory utilization, attracting higher yielding categories of business and increasing effective rates across time bands. These efforts have resulted in a revenue growth faster than that of industry. Also, we have been able to establish Zee Cinema as a reach channel instead of a frequency channel, which will help us garner more advertising revenues.”

    The Board of Directors in its meeting held today, has taken on record the unaudited consolidated financial results of Zee Telefilms Limited and its subsidiaries for the quarter ended 30 June, 2006.

    REVENUE STREAMS:
    Zee’s advertising revenues increased to Rs 1.729 billion, a 31.5 per cent growth as compared to the corresponding quarter last fiscal. “This growth in advertising revenues was a result of higher average rates on most of the network channels. During this quarter, Zee Sports telecast the two One Day (ODI) Cricket matches played between Indian and Pakistan, which has
    contributed to the growth in advertising revenues,” the company said.

    Overall, subscription revenues stood at Rs 1.798 billion, registered an increase of 2.8 per cent over the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Domestic pay revenues, including Siticable, stood at Rs1.039 billion. Other sales and services grew to Rs 357 million.

    EXPENDITURE:
    Overall, the cost of goods and operations went up 60.6 per cent compared to a year-ago period, mainly due to investments made in new channels like Zee Sports, Zee Smile, Zee Telugu and Zee Jagran. A large part of the incremental cost was on account of programming cost of Cricket rights on Zee Sports, states the company release.

    Personnel cost were also up, 26 per cent higher than the corresponding period last year. Other costs, particularly marketing costs have increased by 23.2 per cent. As a result, total expenses were higher by 47.6 per cent.

    From FY2006, the Company has accelerated its investments in the development and expansion of its network. There have been substantial marketing and content improvement initiatives on one hand, and on the other, number of new channels have been launched.

    “As a result, Zee is in a phase in which the initial investments have been made and expensed fully, while the corresponding revenue build-up is to be realized in the next several quarters. The immediate impact is on operating profits, which we hope to recover in successive quarters through increasing revenues and progressive reduction in costs, the release adds.

    Zee’s Q1 segment-wise revenues are indicated in the table below:

    *Content Business includes all Broadcasting and content production companies in India and abroad of Zee Telefilms
    Limited, ETC Networks Limited.
    # Access Business includes Siticable, Zee Turner and distribution segment of ZTL.

    OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

    Sports
    During the first quarter, Zee Sports telecast two ODIs between India and Pakistan played at Abu Dhabi. These were the first two matches in the contract with BCCI for overseas Cricket. In football, National Football League matches were telecast during the quarter. Building on the Football World Cup fever, Zee Sports commissioned ‘Goal 2010’, an initiative to see India in the World Cup of 2010.

    Cable Network
    The cable business is poised to pursue new technology opportunities with renewed focus including digitization of cable, broadband and ‘triple play’ offerings. As per the Zee release, Siticable is the only MSO that would be deploying state-of-the-art Headend In The Sky technology, which would allow it to cover the entire country, not just the CAS notified areas. The recent regulatory and legal developments look set to lead to a roadmap for digitisation initially in the metros. The Delhi High Court has ordered Union Government to issue a revised notification to implement conditional access system (CAS) by 31 December 2006 in the notified areas of three metros i.e. Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. There is more visibility now on the path of transition in the cable business towards digitisation, which would result in greater transparency and accountability, the release further adds.

    Direct Consumer Services business
    DTH services continue to make inroads into Indian homes. The service offerings have been expanded by adding SET Discovery’s The OneAlliance bouquet from June 2006. The service revenues from DishTV continue to generate good response.

    The subscriber numbers have crossed 1,200,000 and are growing at the rate of about 3,500 per day. We are poised to execute market expansion strategies which would lead to a ramp up of subscription from the urban markets, based on value added services not presently available on cable.

    Recently the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) came out with an order, instructing Star to provide its channels to DishTV within 15 days. This would further enhance the present content offering of DishTV, Zee said in the release.

    Restructuring in Zee Telefilms
    Application for the restructuring has been made to the High Courts. The scheme of arrangement would require approval of shareholders of Zee and of Bombay High Court. The whole process is expected to be completed by September / October 2006. Zee News Limited, ASCEL and WWIL would be listed on all stock exchanges where ZTL is listed.Based on the unaudited results of ZTL (consolidated), Zee News Ltd. and ASCEL, the following table sets forth the proforma financials of each line of business for 1Q FY2007, as they would appear in a demerged scenario.

    The company’s investment in 25 FPS Media Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary engaged in production of television programming for the Zee Telefilms, is intended to be disposed off. Accordingly, its financials are not consolidated in these results. Previous year’s figures are also not comparable to that extent, the company said in a posting on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

    At the Bombay Stock Exchange today, the Zee scrip opened at Rs 251.70 and closed at Rs 249.75, down Rs 1.95 from the previous day’s close.

  • Zee consolidated net skids 30% at Rs 2.21 billion in FY06

    Zee consolidated net skids 30% at Rs 2.21 billion in FY06

    MUMBAI: Zee Telefilms has posted a 30 per cent fall in consolidated net profit at Rs 2.21 billion for the fiscal ended 31 March 2006, as against Rs 3.17 billion a year ago.

    Total income, however, rose to Rs 14.87 billion, up from Rs 13.3 billion.
    For the last quarter of the fiscal, the company has reported a 27.2 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 675.5 million, as compared to Rs 925.7 million in the corresponding period of the previous year.

    Total income, however, rose 10 per cent to Rs 4.1 billion, up from Rs 3.8 billion. The operating profit stood at Rs 761 million, after expensing of initial investments in new activities viz. Zee Telugu, Zee Smile, Zee Sports and others, amounting to Rs 525 million (13.2 per cent of consolidated revenues). As a result, consolidated operating profits of continuing businesses were Rs 1.28 billion. These are higher by 4.8 per cent as compared to the corresponding quarter last year. “The growth rate is subdued mainly due to investments in marketing focused on long-term buildup of mainline channels,” Zee said in an official release.
    On a standalone basis, Zee Telefilms has posted a 54.39 per cent fall in net profit to Rs 740.00 million for the year ended 31 March 2006 as compared to Rs 1.62 billion a year ago. Total Income has increased to Rs 8.84 billion, up from Rs 6.93 billion.

    For the quarter ended 31 March 2006, the company reported a net loss of Rs 132.5 million as compared to a net profit of Rs 370.40 million a year ago. Total income, though, has increased to Rs 2.66 billion, up from Rs 1.75 billion during the period.

    “The business of Zee Sports channel started on 8 June 2005. Zee Sports Ltd is re-organised in ZTL during current quarter and content gathering and space selling activity is retained in Zee Sports through an agency arrangement. Hence the standalone results of the company for current quarter and year are not comparable, said the company.

    Commenting on the results, ZTL chairman Subhash Chandra said, ““We are pleased to report the continuing uptrend in advertising revenues and the strong recovery in our market position. You are aware of the hike in advertisement rates announced by Zee Network, which we are confident would start reflecting in FY2007 revenues.”

    “The Board has also given approval for the hiving off of Zee’s direct consumer business. All DishTV operations would now be under a single corporate entity, bringing strategic clarity to this high growth business. This shall complete the restructuring agenda we had set for ourselves to create four focused, pure play, listed companies ready to exploit the vast emerging opportunities in each line of business. Subject to necessary approvals, this would result in streamlined operations in each area to build long-term shareholder value. It would also clear the ground for acquisitions and strategic or financial partners in the de-merged businesses, apart from unlocking shareholder value,” said Chandra.

    Commenting on the results, ZTL CEO Pradeep Guha said, “While general entertainment (GE) as a genre has posted a 5 per cent decline in time spent, Zee TV has increased its viewership share from 16 per cent to 22 per cent along with a significant growth in time spent. Even within prime time Zee TV is the only channel to have grown, by 21 per cent, while its main competitors have dipped between 7 per cent and 12 per cent. Zee TV now conclusively occupies the second place in the pecking order of GE channels. With an average of 180 GRPs, we are fully 30 per cent higher than the number three GE channel, which continues to be behind Zee Cinema as well.”

    “The cinema space has shown a decline except however for Zee Cinema, which has grown 7 per cent, with a channel share of 37 per cent. Recently we won the BCCI Cricket Rights for the one-day internationals to be held in non-ICC countries.This further strengthens the long term business prospects of the company,” Guha added.

    The Board of Directors in its meeting held today, has taken on record the unaudited consolidated financial results of Zee Telefilms Limited and its subsidiaries for the quarter ended 31 March, 2006.

    REVENUE STREAMS:
    Zee’s advertising revenues increased to Rs 1.96 billion, a 11.7 per cent growth as compared to the corresponding quarter last fiscal. “This growth in advertising revenues was a result of higher average rates on most of the network channels,” the company said.

    Overall subscription revenues at Rs 1.76 billion registered an increase of 5 per cent over the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Domestic pay revenues stood at Rs 717 million. Other sales and services grew to Rs 253 million. “From 2Q FY2006, we are recording the net income component of the trading of set top boxes as part of other income”, the company said in the release.

    EXPENDITURE:
    Overall, the cost of goods and operations went up 44.8 per cent compared to a year-ago period, mainly due to investments made in new channels like Zee Sports, Zee Smile, Zee Telugu and Zee Jagran.

    Personnel costs were 6.5 per cent higher than corresponding period last year. Other costs, particularly marketing expenses have increased by 24.4 per cent. As a result, total expenses were higher by 35 per cent.

    From FY2006, the Company has accelerated its investments in the development and expansion of its network. “This has taken two directions. One, substantial marketing and content improvement initiatives have been put through and second, a number of new channels have been launched, to fill out our content offerings,” states the company.

    “As a result, Zee is in a phase in which the initial investments have been made and expensed fully, while the corresponding revenue build-up is to be realized in the next several quarters. The immediate impact is lowering of operating profits, which we hope to recover in successive quarters through increasing revenues and progressive reduction in costs,” the company adds.

    Zee’s Q4 segment-wise revenues are indicated in the table below:

    OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

    Cable Network
    Zee is looking forward to reinvention of its cable TV business and augmenting revenues. “The cable business is poised to pursue new technology opportunities with renewed focus including ‘triple play’ offerings, digitisation of cable, broadband and other similar initiatives that form the frontiers of cable today. Firm business plans are being given shape and field launch is due to commence shortly. There is more visibility now on the path of transition in the cable business towards digitalization. The recent regulatory and legal developments look set to lead to a roadmap for digitisation initially in the metros,” the company said.

    Direct Consumer Services business
    The DTH subscriber numbers have crossed 900,000 and are growing at the rate of about 2,500 per day. “We are poised to execute market expansion strategies which would lead to a ramp up of subscription from the urban markets, based on value added services not presently available on cable,” the company said.

    At the Bombay Stock Exchange today, the Zee scrip opened at Rs 241.50 and closed at Rs 246.65, after touching a high of Rs 253 and a low of Rs 242.50.

     

  • Go for the young, but be alive to the downside

    Go for the young, but be alive to the downside

    MUMBAI: “Made in India – Made for a Young India”. A celebration of youth and the paradise of riches lying there for the pickings by those who could succesfully tap into this demographic.

    This could be termed as the gist of what constituted one of Friday’s high powered sessions at Frames 2006 in Mumbai that was chaired by Zee Telefilms CEO Pradeep Guha.

    According to Ashutosh Srivastava, CEO, GroupM, South Asia, “With half the population under 24 years of age, combined with increasing levels of disposable income and rapid penetration of new technology, attitudes and behaviour are undergoing a radical change – and this will have far reaching impact of the kind of entertainment, and also the way it is consumed by this young India.”

    “This is the most media savvy and exposed generation. It is also a lot more very self expressive ‘me’ generation, seeking its own identity, and has an opinion of everything. And, driven by the widespread penetration of mobiles and the internet, it is also the most socially networked generation,” Srivastava said.

    The downside of all this was thrown in (almost inadvertantly one thought) by KSA Technopark managing director Arvind Singhal who said for this generation, there was an intense aspirational sentiment at play as well as strong ambitions to “make it”. And to achieve this success, if the law was twisted towards this end so be it. The end justifies the means. Singhal used the character (small time con artists) of the lead protagonists in a recent hit film Bunty and Bali as an example. That Singhal didn’t seem to see this as a dangerous trend seemed a tad worrisome though.

    Even more bizarre was Singhal’s contention that in aspirational terms, India’s youth did not see themselves as being Asian but looked westward (specifially the US and the UK one would assume). This stands out in even starker relief stacked up against the common world view that points to Asia as being where the action is, India and China in particular and the rest of Asia in general. Where he fished this piece of data from might be worth a separate study.

    After the rather depressing dose of Singhal’s “world view” on India’s youth, it was refreshing to here from Rakeysh Mehra, director of the recent blockbuster hit Rang De Basanti, who introduced a cautionary note into the discussion. That there should also be awareness that in the midst of the hype and hoopla around the celebration of a young India, efforts to build a strong (ethical) foundation for a not so young india of the future was also needed was the point he tried to bring forth.

    Said Mehra, “It is important to harness the emotions of the young in the right direction and in a poetic way.” He added, “For the young India, it is essential to create a new idiom rather than copying one (from the West).”

    That new idiom was what Star India executive VP marketing and communication Ajay Vidyasagar focussed his presentation around. Vidyasagar believes that the creators of content, in order to connect with the young Indian, have to speak the language of the youth.

    The core message from all the panelists: It’s a whole new generation out there, with new mindsets, habits and working styles. As Srivastava pointed out, “This has huge implications for the industry. We will be forced to rethink current business models. Today, the consumers pay very little and and get exposed to all kinds of messages and content. In the future, they will pay and trade personal information to access the messages and the content they want, through different multimedia devices, at a time and place of their choice.”

    So what of the “40+ fossils”? What’s to become of them? This question was raised by some in the audience though the response from the panel was half-hearted to say the least. But then, this was a session that had all to do with the promise of youth. For the “fossils”, maybe another forum would be in order.